Demand that the NIH retire 26 chimpanzees to sanctuary before it’s too late!
They died awaiting freedom.
Danny, Amanda, Ann, El Rey, Fonzie, Kareem, Kim, and Martin. These are the names of some of the chimps who died at a biomedical research facility in New Mexico while the National Institutes of Health refused to move them to the Chimp Haven sanctuary, despite being required to by law.
So, we sued. And in December 2022, a court determined that the NIH violated the CHIMP Act by denying these chimps sanctuary retirement simply because they suffer from chronic health conditions common in chimps formerly used in research.
But NIH still refuses to move the remaining 26 chimps to sanctuary. These chimps were subjected to painful biomedical experiments for years. We owe them the chance to live out the rest of their lives in a sanctuary where they can climb trees, live in bonded social groups and control their own lives.
These chimps have already suffered so much at the hands of humans. We demand that they be given a chance for a better life: Tell the NIH it's time to move these chimps to Chimp Haven.
Dear Director Bertagnolli,
In your capacity as the Director of NIH, we urge you to provide the government-owned chimpanzees remaining at Alamogordo Primate Facility the sanctuary life they deserve. By refusing to move these chimps simply because they suffer from chronic health conditions common in chimps formerly used in research, the agency is not only violating the CHIMP Act and the intent of Congress, but also ignoring the will of the public.
Hundreds of chimpanzees of all ages and health conditions have safely moved to Chimp Haven since the NIH announced in 2015 that they would no longer fund invasive chimpanzee research. These chimpanzees have thrived at Chimp Haven, where they are given superior care and an enriched life at a lower cost to taxpayers.
Every day that goes by is one more that sanctuary retirement is denied to these deserving chimpanzees. We implore you to act quickly and retire these and other government-owned chimpanzees to sanctuary as soon as possible.
Thank you.
